Bettina Mihalas (PhD)
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Background
I am interested in understanding how a woman's eggs decrease in quality with age. My research focuses on chromosome segregation, oxidative stress and small non-coding RNAs. My passion is to understand the mechanisms underlying poor egg quality and contribute to the development of fertility treatments and infertility diagnostics.
Research summary
Uneven chromosome segregation (aneuploidy) in human eggs is a major cause of infertility, miscarriage and congenital abnormalities. Human eggs are notoriously prone to aneuploidy, occurring in approximately 30% of oocytes, and is further exacerbated with age.
In mammals, there are unique mechanisms that allow only half of the chromosomes to be retained within the fertilisation ready egg. While these processes are beginning to be uncovered in model organisms, the mechanisms by which this occurs in human eggs is still unknown.
My research aims to understand how chromosomes segregation occurs in human eggs and what makes them uniquely susceptible to aneuploidy.